Education

MALVERN - The East Mills School Board plans to keep its footprint firmly in Malvern.
The board voted unanimously to renovate the current middle-high school building in Malvern into a consolidated kindergarten through 12th grade school among its short- and long-term plans approved at a special board meeting Tuesday, June 17.

The fate of the East Mills School District’s buildings and, perhaps, the future of the entire school district is in the hands of the East Mills School Board.

After months of study, speculation and rumor, the district’s board-appointed strategic planning committee has made its recommendation on how the cash-strapped and geographically divided school district should proceed in the short and long term.

A former Glenwood Community High School social studies and communications teacher who is suspected of having sex with a student and supplying alcohol to another student at his rural Glenwood home was the subject of an initial investigation by the Glenwood Community School District six months ago.

A facilities study by a Jefferson-based consulting firm could provide the blueprint for the future of the East Mills School District.

The district has contracted with Iowa Schoolhouse Construction and Planning Services to conduct a facilities study of the district’s four buildings between Malvern and Hastings. The district formally approved a contract with Iowa Schoolhouse in January at a cost of $8,500.

Richard Hutchinson, Sr. has accepted the principal job at Glenwood Community High School. Hutchinson, 55, was one of seven candidates interviewed for the position that became open when current GCHS Principal Shane Stephens announced in March he was stepping down due to health issues. Hutchinson was offered and accepted the position last week.

Glenwood Community High School Principal Shane Stephens made the difficult decision to step down from the position he has held for less than a year due to declining health issues, he said.

“My goal over the last 15 years has been to be a high school principal in Iowa and I did that,” Stephens said. “When I took over this job I thought it was the right job for me, however, over the course of the last two months there’s a combination of things. But the stress of the job is more than I thought it would be.

The Glenwood Community Schools will start classes two weeks earlier in August than it did for the 2013-14 school year.

The Glenwood School Board voted unanimously Friday to move up the start of school for grades 3-12 to Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 for grades K-2 for the 2014-2015 school year. The current school year began Aug. 26 for grades 3-12 and Aug. 27 for K-2.

An entomologist from the University of Nebraska was at Glenwood Community High School last Monday creating a buzz about bumblebee research with students in Betsy Maryott’s environmental science classes.

Doug Golick, Ph.D., met with two classes of GCHS students who are doing research on bumblebee nesting habitat. As part of their project, students are making their own artificial nesting boxes in hopes of attracting bees. Golick and two of his graduate students are working with 40 high schools as part of their research effort.

Glenwood Community School District Superintendent Devin Embray said he supports establishing a protocol that would allow off-duty law enforcement officers to carry firearms on school district property.